Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine

A priest of Rikyu Hachimangu is credited with inventing the perilla seed oil press in the ninth century, making this shrine the origin point of the Japanese oil-pressing industry. For centuries, the shrine held a monopoly on perilla oil production, and all merchants were required to obtain its permission to sell. The shrine still sells bottled oil and votive tablets depicting the original priest. Its omamori amulets read yudan taiteki, 'carelessness is one's greatest foe,' a phrase that plays on the word yudan, which is written with characters meaning 'to run out of oil.' Half-scale model presses are displayed during festivals.